


Edward's Gonna Kill Me

by Xaveri



Category: Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter - Laurell K. Hamilton
Genre: Angst, Dark, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-05
Updated: 2018-04-05
Packaged: 2019-04-18 18:34:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14219235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xaveri/pseuds/Xaveri
Summary: Edward finally gets his long-awaited duel with Anita. There's only a tiny twist in it.





	1. Edward's Gonna Kill Me

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Magyar available: [Edward ki fog nyírni](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14219076) by [Xaveri](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xaveri/pseuds/Xaveri)



> I didn't write the story, I just "saved it". It was originally posted on PDS. As the site is no longer available, I'm posting it here, so everyone else can read it, too. If you know the person who wrote it or you wrote it, let me know. If you want it removed I will be more than happy to do so.

_**Edward's Gonna Kill Me by Poofu Bunny** _

 

There was a blood smear on my right hand, my eyes kept straying to look at it. I couldn’t not look at it, because as a rule when you don’t want to see something, it’s the only thing you can see. Well right then, that blood had my undivided attention; the paramedic, however, was only a secondary thing. Gingerly, the man, who couldn’t have been over 25 years old, touched a gauze pad to my forehead, where the blood was still oozing out. My health was the main concern at the moment, mental stability would have to wait until later. 

I grimaced as he rubbed the alcohol base that felt more like acid, onto the wound, cleansing it of all the dirt that had embedded itself into my face. I glanced at the blood one more time and then shifted my gaze over to the scene of the crime. There were so many people milling around, doing their specific duties, that it reminded me of an ant hill. Hard at work. I’d already done all the work, and now, they were cleaning up the mess. 

I could just make out Dolph standing off to the side listening to a cop who was questioning a witness that was dressed in a not so complimentary pink ducky bath robe. Similarly dressed in bath robes, were a dozen other people standing behind a police line tape, hoping to sneak a peek, or learn some juicy tidbit. Why is it people feel compelled to leave their houses in whatever they went to bed in? What were they doing out here in the dead of night in the first place? Hoping to catch a glance at some poor sod’s leftovers? 

“Poor sod, indeed,” I muttered which caused the paramedic to look into my eyes briefly before placing a piece of gauze with several stripes of tape to hold it to my forehead.

The poor sod in question, would probably be very pissed to see his business looked at like an unexpected entertainment. Actually, I know he would be extremely pissed, not at the people, and not because he was now the recently deceased. He would be pissed at himself, for letting himself be murdered. Not that he’s so kind of low self-esteem suicide case. 

No, much the other way around. Edward was anyone but a suicide case, he was in actuality a murder victim. Victim? I can’t believe I actually thought Edward and victim in the same sentence, he would definitely not like that word used to describe him up, nor the fact that I said it. Fact being that I was the one who had killed him so recently. 

But hey, its not my fault he’s dead, well not entirely. You’d have to know Edward to understand. Think crazed yet restrained psychopath with a gun fetish. Yeah, that’s the Edward I know and hate. You can probably formulate several reasons for me to kill him now, but you would be wrong on all of them. The particular reason that I had to kill Edward was because if I didn’t, he would have killed me. See he had this grand fantasy of hunting me to see which one of us was better. It’s a friendship damper I know but I guess he just couldn’t help himself.

It all started five days ago, well actually it started when I met Edward but I’m not gonna take the time to explain all that. Five days ago the worst of my problems was what was I going wear to see my two waiting boyfriends. Pathetic, hmm? Most women would be overjoyed to have the two men I had waiting for me. Consider me not overjoyed. Yeah, it’s a hell of a problem to have, its right up there with how to get werewolf gunk off the ceiling. 

But I digress. To explain a little, my name is Anita Blake, vampire executioner, necromancer slash animator, and monster extraordinaire expert on preternatural cases to the police occasionally. I am, or well, was probably Edwards only friend who knew exactly what he was and still didn’t run away. I happen to be one not likely to run away from anything, be it vampire, were, or even a psycho with quite a high kill rate. I blame it all on the small amounts of testosterone in my body. 

I am strangely enough a Nimir-Ra to a local wereleopard pard, Lupa to the local werewolf pack and the human servant to the Master of the City, a vampire. Weird enough for you? Well, I also am one third of a triumvirate of power with the Ulfric of said werewolf pack and the aforementioned Master of the City. Yeah, these are the days of my life.

The problem that eventually arose was Edward. He always knew just how to get on my nerves and ironically, even dead, Edward still got on my nerves.

See I had just come back from helping him kill a would be powerful vampire and solve a rather gruesome mass murderer case, with a little kidnapping rescue that cut too close to home for Edward. In the midst of it all he got shot, and I ended up saving his fiancées children’s lives and everything but that didn’t get him to cut me any slack. 

Nope as soon as I got back to St. Louis I found a rather simple note that had been left in my luggage. It said ‘lets see whose best‘, signed just Edward. 

I didn’t need any further goading. Edward was gonna be coming after me once and for all. Not knowing how much of a head start I had. Immediately I packed fresh clothes in a duffel bag along with a few choice weapons. My knives in theirs sheaths went on my forearms with matching ones on my calves, the Browning that had become a life long friend and savior, went into my new shoulder holster, and lastly the Firestar went to the back of my jeans. I would probably regret leaving my sword but without a sheath it would make me clumsy, and clumsy meant dead.

I had just gotten back to St. Louis, as I said, didn’t even have time to take that shower that I had been dreaming about. I didn’t run into any of the people that usually hang around my house, or used to hang around. 

I silently thanked God and got back in my jeep tossing the bag into the passenger seat. Since no one had seen me, they wouldn’t be expecting me back, so no one would be missing me, at least not right away. I couldn’t figure out if that was a good thing or not. Guess they’d find out when I came back, either on my own two feet or in a body bag. I wasn’t hoping the latter.


	2. Another Day On The Run

Without having much of a plan, I left St. Louis. I was amazed at how easy it was to just pick up and leave, even if I didn’t plan to stay away for too long. Still, it was relatively easy. Plus there were just too many people that I cared about there that could get hurt in the cross fire. Although most of them could take care of themselves better then most cops could do. Were’s and vamp’s are able to survive just about anything. However, they wouldn’t have guns. Edward would most definitely have guns. His beef was with me; there was no sense involving anyone else. It all came down to him or me. I had my money on me, which had been a sure bet up till now.

Using my card to buy things like gas, or food, would be easy. But I had an inkling that Edward would find me in a second if I did that. So I took a fair amount of money from my house to hold me a couple of days. I traveled toward the east coast, since he would be coming from the opposite direction from New Mexico. It vaguely reminded of a cartoon roadrunner being relentlessly followed by a coyote as I made my way out of the city and onto the highway. That thought made me laugh because Edward was much more dangerous then a coyote, and much, much more inventive.

The first day, I drove all night, and into the early hours of the next day. I tried to think of places to go where Edward wouldn’t think to find me. The afternoon of the second day I ended up parking in a church parking lot during their morning service. Its sad but he wouldn’t expect me to be there. Falling asleep in my back seat covered with a blanket wasn‘t very comfortable but I made it work for me. 

As of late my dreams have been pretty much run of the mill, you know, the chase dream, the falling dream, and even walking naked through the Circus of the Damned. That last one scared me. 

Right when I was asleep in my car in a parking lot in some run down little city Jean-Claude decided to infringe on my dream. Jean-Claude is the Master of the City of St. Louis, and my sometimes boyfriend. The last time he had invaded my dreams was to check up on me after I almost died in the hospital. It was way too soon for me to be seeing him again, but I was kind of glad to see him even if he was barging in on my privacy. Which for me, is a big No-No.

As usual he was dressed in some frilly laced attire, and of course the signature tight pants that make you think ‘does it hurt the package having pants that tight?’ The world may never know. The thigh high boots were there as always, and his hair hung down in curly rivets spilling over his shoulders and down his back. Well at least you could say one thing about him, he was consistent. 

One thing however was not, I was still wearing what I had gone to sleep in, which is odd because he usually puts me in some tight fitting gown that I would never wear out in public. Maybe he was finally learning, or he most likely wanted something from me. 

We stood in his bedroom at the Circus, but several things had changed. The four poster was still there but the bed linens for one, were a deep blue, the draperies were the same shade with the rug matching. It seemed very somber yet vibrant at the same time, like there was too much of one color but still it subdued the room to something your eyes could live with.

“You felt so close awhile ago, ma petite, now you seem very far away again,” he purred with a hint of worry in his succulent voice.

“Great, you can feel me when I’m near? Yet another thing I wasn’t told about, what a surprise,” I muttered, trying hard to avoid his question. Trying, but probably not succeeding.

“Yes, but only because I have not had the chance to talk to you for so long. It has been too long since I’ve seen your beautiful face in person, not that I could forget it, but I do enjoy your presence ma petite.” He came to stand directly in front of me, looking concerned and frustrated at the same time. “Where are you going now?”

I sighed deeply, and walked around him to sit on the bed. We stayed in silence for a few minutes, him looking at me, me looking at my hands in sudden interest. 

Suddenly he was standing right in front of me, I knew I shouldn’t but I looked up into his eyes anyways. They were twin orbs of blue that could drown me. His eyes matched the room, what a coincidence. 

“Why didn’t you change my clothes?” I whispered, like I would disturb the setting if I talked too loud.

He faintly smiled and then went to a crouch that made me have to look down at him. “You look magnificent in anything but I did this so you would not feel intimidated, ma petite.” He reached up to move a dark lock from my face and place it carefully behind my ear, “ I will do anything if it means you will come swiftly back to me. I miss you. Why are you leaving?”

“I’m not leaving,” I wondered how much I should tell him. If I told him too much then he might want to come and protect me. Telling the truth might get him to kill Edward, so lies it was. He would be able to tell I was lying but the truth wasn‘t any better. “I need a little more time to sort things out.”

“I can not tell you that I do not wish you were here now, but if you desire more time to decide then I will not push you. But please, come back soon.” He leaned forward to place a kiss on me forehead and that was exactly when the dream fell apart.

Jean-Claude was really good at being patient with me, but now he seemed very desperate for me to come back. He got extra points for not begging though.

After waking up and stretching a bit, I knew what it was like to rough it. There were kinks in my back and shoulders, but I could live with them. Coffee always makes mornings better, well coffee that I make at home, but I didn’t exactly bring my coffee grinder along for the ride. After two cups things of starbucks coffee things were looking up. At least I wouldn’t die of starvation, just a neat little bullet hole if I allowed Edward to get a clear shot.

Being so caught up in getting out of town, I’d forgotten to change my clothes. But what I desperately needed was a shower. Something’s could wait till after I was clean, then again most something’s never did. Hotels were very risky, but I didn’t have a choice in the matter. However, I found myself trying to be clever, never a good thing. But I guess being chased by a psycho will sharpen the mind. 

I stopped at a hotel just off the highway, checking in under a name that Edward would recognize with significance to me, paying for one nights stay and then leaving without even going to the room. I drove until I was about ten counties away from said hotel, and stopped at another. Checked in under a different name and only stayed long enough to clean up and rest a bit. Now clean and rested, I started driving again. Heading straight through Kentucky, making only one stop to get gas. 

By the third morning I knew I had to face Edward. I couldn’t keep running and I knew it was no use to hide, Edward would find me eventually. I had to let him catch me.


	3. The Trick To Getting Caught

The trick with letting Edward catch me, was that if I made it too easy then he would get suspicious and would probably figure my plan out. I had to be extremely careful if I wanted to have the jump on him, rather then the other way around. I was coming up fast on the Kentucky/ Virginia border, but still I couldn’t think of how I could let on where I was and not be obvious about it. 

Then it came to me, Edward hated the fact that I dated monsters and he thought it would get me killed one day. Well, I thought, if it makes me so vulnerable then why shouldn’t this be the time it screws me up and gets me killed? Or at least gives Edward a really big hint. I stopped at a pay phone in a rest stop off the highway, shoving my quarters in I could remember Richard’s number by heart. Richard, if you haven’t figured it out, is my other boyfriend, or was my other boyfriend. Was or is, who knows- I still hadn’t figured out which one I was gonna choose. 

I had my watch all ready to time it for 60 seconds, hey if it worked in the movies maybe it was true in real life- who knows. I knew that the conversation would probably be longer then 60 seconds and be the most intense 60 seconds I would have all day. After the second ring, I knew I should have called someone else, anyone else Edward knew I was connected to. But he picked up on the third ring before I could hang up, sounding slightly out of breath, like he knew it was important and rushed over rather quickly. 

“Hello?”

I froze, his voice was like a warm breeze over my skin. I knew I still loved him just by that fact alone. “Richard, it’s Anita,” okay sticking to the truth so far. 

He sighed very audibly on the other end of the phone, he sounded weary and tired. I was betting it was all my fault. Suddenly, I felt very guilty for using him to get Edward to find me. But I had no other choice. 

“Where are you?” 

“I’m uh, I’m in Kentucky actually,” I winced, I knew his expression was one of shock and rage right about now, “almost to Virginia.”

“Why are you going to Virginia exactly?” his words were strained like he was trying to let me tell my side of the story before he got completely pissed off for why he thought I wasn’t home yet. 

“Look, I can’t really tell you-”

“Can’t tell me?! Can’t or won’t, Anita?” 

Usually when I’m pushed I get angry, but I had no reason to be angry at him for wanting information on my whereabouts. Sadly I knew I should have called one of the pard members. Even Jean-Claude would have been better to call. But what if someone told him that I’d call them instead of him? Oh, what tangled webs we weave… 

“Richard, please, I just wanted to call you to tell you I was okay. And not to worry.” 

He didn’t say anything for a couple of minutes, I could literally feel him pacing on the other end trying to control himself. “When are you coming back?”

“I don’t know yet.” I knew it wasn’t good enough. This man had been my lover and almost my husband once, and what I was telling him just wasn’t good enough. 

“Look, I miss you, but I have to take care of something first. I’ll be back right after it’s all over, I swear.” Glancing down at my watch, I knew I’d been on the phone for too long now, Edward had to know my exact location by now, no use waiting for him to show up. “I have to go, hopefully, I’ll see you soon.”

“Hopefully? Anita-”

I had to. I hung up on him. Man was he gonna be pissed off when I got back. Just something to look forward to when I lived, if I lived. 

I got some snacks from the vending machines plus some caffeine and got back into my car. Edward had to be monitoring the boys phones somehow, so he knew where I was. Now all I had to do was be patient and he would show himself. 

About 1pm that night, I stopped at a little hotel on the edge of the Kentucky-Virginia border and got a room. I gave the hotel manager another recognizable name but I didn’t stay in that room. I went across the street to another hotel, and made sure I got a room where I could see the other hotel and my other room. The room had its own coffee maker but it still wasn’t as good as I could make it at home. Point one for homesickness. So I forewent coffee and stuck with caffeine. 

It was dark, but the lights on the outsides of the rooms that lined the hotel across the street kept the walkway eliminated. Two o’clock came and went. Then three o’clock went. By eight in the morning I knew he wasn’t going to show. Maybe he hadn’t been keeping a close eye on the phones. Or maybe he was just waiting for me to make my move. There were just too many maybes to do anything at that point.

I knew I couldn’t go back to that room. So I sent someone else. House keeping. They showed up around nine in the morning. I watched as the elderly women, knocked on the door to see if anyone was there and then enter with a few towels in her hands. It didn’t take long for her to come back out, she looked shocked and hurried back down to the managers office. I wondered what got her so riled up. She wasn’t dead so I knew Edward couldn’t be in the room. 

Suddenly very curious I dawned a hat to hide my hair, a heavy coat and some sunglasses. I knew it was very risky but I had to know. The manager had come and looked at the room and then left again, so the door was left open. I went to the end of hotel building and up the stairs that lead to the upper deck. Walking very casually I made my way across the walkway with my hand very close to my gun. As I walked past the room, I caught a glimpse of utter destruction. The bed was over turned, the drawers to the dresser were pulled out and on the floor, and papers were scattered around the room. Edward had been there. 

I could suddenly feel my heart in my throat as I made my way steadily down the row of hotel rooms. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Somehow he had gotten into the room without using the front door. He was probably watching the hotel room too. 

Without running, which was a major point for me, I got into my car and started down the road. I kept looking back for suspicious cars following me, but I knew Edward was too smart to be caught following. 

My heart was racing the entire way into Virginia. I wasn’t even paying attention to where I was going, I just kept going. I couldn’t even think, I just kept looking over my shoulder at the road behind me. But I never saw a car follow me. My plan had back fired. He had the upper hand now.


	4. The Trouble With Doors

I was getting so tired now, I hadn’t sleep all night because I had to keep an eye on the hotel room. However there was no safe place to stop now, and I was too tired to face off with him. On instinct, I decided and took the next exit, it led to a maze of new developments, with shiny new looking houses with perfect yards. At the end of one of the streets there was still construction going on, but no workers were around since it was Sunday no one would be around. I pulled my car into a garage of one of the half finished houses. I got out and closed the garage door. I looked out the little garage window until I was satisfied that no one had seen me or followed me. 

Then I got into the back of my jeep and didn’t have to try very hard to go to sleep. I was so tired they could have demolished the house and I wouldn’t have awoken. I expected not to wake up because Edward had found me, what I didn’t expect was to see Jean-Claude and Richard in my dreams. 

I really didn’t have time to talk to them in the waking hours- with Edward most likely very close on my tail, but in my sleep, they could talk till they were blue in the face. 

Surprised yet again, that I was still in my regular clothes and that my two boys were all dressed. I guess they were too mad at me to try to seduce me at this point. I was back in the Circus, Jean-Claude’s bedroom, it still looked exactly like last time, except there was a very ticked off Ulfric standing in front of me. It was a wonder it took them this long to double team me in my dreams to get information. 

I sighed, I would almost rather face Edward, almost. “I guess this isn’t a social visit;” I muttered, lack of sleep always makes me grouchy. 

“Ma petite, please, no sarcasm. We know you are in trouble, why do you think you did not need our help?” Jean-Claude was sitting in one of the few chairs in his bedroom. 

“How do you know I’m in trouble, I could just be taking a vacation,” I put my hands on my hips.

“Vacation?” Richard shook his head. “I felt a very big jump in fear from you today, we know you’re in trouble. And you probably thought it was okay to just go and take care of it yourself, but Anita, we can help.” He walked over to me, not seeming so angry, but as tired as I felt when I went to sleep. He sniffed the air around me, “You’re afraid, even now.”

So much for anger, I wrapped my arms around myself so I wouldn’t fidget. “Yes, I’m afraid. But its something I have to take care of myself…” 

Richard had loomed over me before but now his features softened and he reached for me. I moved away shaking my head. “Anita, you don’t have to do things all by yourself, we can help you, why don’t you trust us?”

I moved back to stand by the fire place looking intently at it and not the other people in the room, “I would include you, I really would. But this is my problem, I don’t want either of you taking my bullet.” I knew I couldn’t live with myself knowing that Edward killed either of them because he was aiming for me. 

“Who’s going to be shooting at you, ma petite?” Jean-Claude had on a blank face, like he didn’t want me to know what emotions he was feeling. 

“I’ll try not to get shot, and maybe I’ll see you two later and we can talk,” I turned to take a good look at them for the last time, hoping it wouldn’t be the last time but knowing it might be. “I love you both, good-bye,” I reached out and tore down the dream, immediately waking up in my car. 

It was dark outside, so it was pitch black in the garage. I got out and stretched and then took a look out the window. I couldn’t see anyone lurking about but that didn’t mean that there was no one there. 

I checked the clip in my Browning and put it back in my holster. Nervous? Me? Naw. Since I left St. Louis, I had been fully loaded and fully armed. Who knew when Edward would get his face off. I knew I didn’t need silver bullets to kill Edward- but what other then the best would I use to kill one of my friends? So he got silver. Plus usually other things arose while trying to deal with one situation.

I didn’t know what I was going to do now, I needed to be able to see Edward to be able to deal with Edward. This thing would only end when one of us was dead. Really I felt I was too young to die, and- well I didn’t actually know Edward’s age.

Suddenly I heard a creak around the door leading towards the house. All of a sudden I was cradling my gun in my hand, those perks of the Triumvirate would really come in handy when dealing with Edward. I kept a steady eye on the door to the garage. Wondering if it was Edward behind it, or some kid wondering around looking for trouble. I had to know for sure before I could shoot. 

I eased towards the side of my jeep closest to the door. I didn’t hear any other sounds, I slide along the wall towards the door. I stared at the door knob like it was a bomb that would explode. Then it slowly turned; my gun aimed directly on it as it made a slow rotation.

“Anita,” I looked up to see Dolph standing in front of my with a grim look on his face. 

I blinked, I was sitting on the back of the ambulance alone, the paramedic had wandered off to help with the body. “Dolph.”

“You’re gonna have to ride in the helicopter with me since you’re car out of commission,” he knew I didn’t like riding in helicopters or anything that could fly. 

I nodded my head and stood up a little wobbly, his arm immediately reached out to steady me. He kept his hand on my arm as he escorted me to the police marked car waiting to take us to the helipad. Before stepping into the car, I took one last look as they zipped up the body bag. It was too bad that it all had to end like this. But at least for me it hadn’t ended in a bloody body bag.

Dolph didn’t say anything on the way there, he didn’t really like Edward but the fact that I had killed him still didn’t set well with him. He believed I was on a downward spiral. I liked to think of it as more of an escalator ride, slow but sure. I couldn’t help it that people ended up dying around me, at least they were the bad guys. Most times.

The ride in the helicopter was loud and uncomfortable, I focused intently on the floor and not looking at the passing scenery below. My hands held tightly on to the seat belt, the doors didn’t really look that safe and I really didn’t feel like finding out if I could survive a fall from this height. Plus it would really add to my already bad mood. 

Before I knew it was I standing outside my house, watching the police car drive away. I huddled around myself, holding my arms tightly across my stomach like I was cold, although it was quite warm outside. Shock, definitely shock. 

Dolph had taken me to the station to give a full recounting of everything that happened. Starting from when I got back from New Mexico and left St. Louis again going in the opposite direction. It had taken a very long time but they got it all written down, filed and let me go. 

Now here I stood looking down at my door knob. I knew I shouldn’t be afraid, Edward was dead, he wouldn’t be popping out from behind this door. But that didn’t stop me from thinking about the last door knob I faced. 

I shook my head, I was being dumb. I killed Edward, I made damn well sure that he was completely dead. He told me once he wanted it that way. I made a mental note to look into getting his body incinerated, he wouldn’t care if someone raised him from the dead, but I didn’t think I could handle Edward coming back from the dead even if it was only a zombie. I also had to get in contact with Donna, would she really want to hear from me? I was the one who killed her fiancé. Well it wasn’t like we were ever going to be best friends. Might as well hear it from me.

I reached out for the knob, turning it in my hand. I stood at the doorstep and pushed the door open till it slammed home on the wall. Always gotta be careful. No more making friends with psycho’s… if I could help it.

I started to walk forward when movement just inside the threshold caught my attention. I could make out an outline of a very tall and very solid looking man standing in my foyer. Pointing my gun at the figure silently I thought to myself, what did I ever do to deserve this?


	5. Fancy Meeting You Here

I blinked again and I was back in the half done house facing another man but one that wasn’t so big or so tall. He still had a demanding presence though. I mean he had my complete attention. We both had our guns very steady on each other. My finger lightly caressed the trigger. 

“Edward,” that single word ran a shiver up my back. It wasn’t very visible but it was there. 

“Anita, fancy meeting you here.” Damn Edward, even now he was keeping his sarcasm in full check. 

I knew I couldn’t fire first, I still hoped Edward would call this whole thing off. Yeah, like he was just playing a practical joke. A very sick practical joke. But this wasn’t a joke, he really meant to kill me. Edward was covering the only exit other then the garage door which would take way too long to open. He had me cornered. Just great. 

I ducked as fast I could behind my jeep on the drivers side, a shot rang out in the closed in space. I looked down at my body, nope I wasn’t hit. I was betting he’d hit my car. Well better the car then me. I glanced over the hood of the car, he wasn’t standing in the doorway but I fired through the doorway to give him a little something to think about before showing his face in that door again. I swung my gun around as a familiar jingle came from inside my car. There was a little flashing light on my cell phone. Wonder who that could be, the boys sensing more fear? I couldn’t exactly tone it down now that I was facing Death- literally. 

Then I had a thought, he had that exit for sure, but I could use my car to open the other exit, the garage, in much easier way. Back up into it. I looked at the doorway again, he wasn’t coming around. I fired one into the door frame and opened my driver door. The keys were still in the engine. All I had to do was start it, easy right? But from this position it allowed him a clear shot through the passengers side window right at me. 

Quick as a bunny I started the car, not exactly getting inside, but still using the car as a shield. I ducked as another shot rang out and the window busted and spilled onto the passenger seat and the bullet went into the drivers seat. Close, a little too close. 

The car started with a jump, I put it in reverse, reached down and pressed on the gas pedal. The jeep lurched backwards and kept going, I swung the rest of my body into the seat as it flew back. It impacted with the garage door and kept going making a big hole in its wake, the metal scratched at the sides of the jeep and the unclosed driver door snapped off like twig. So much for my car. 

I kept it going backwards until it hit the lawn behind me. I looked through the windshield in time to see Edward’s surprised face peeked out and then jump through quickly and duck behind a shrub. A lot of noise was made in my ungraceful exit of the garage, no doubt a lot of people heard and the police would soon be here. 

Smoke started coming out of the closed hood of the car. Edward must have gotten a shot into the engine. Not wanting to be blown up. I got out of the jeep and stayed close to the side of it because there wasn’t as much cover in this yard as I would have liked. 

I moved my head an inch before a bullet embedded itself into the side of my jeep right where my head had been a second ago. I ran like a bat out of hell around the jeep, firing a few shots in Edward’s general direction. Panting hard I pulled out the empty clip and inserted another from my pocket. 

Clicking it home I kept an eye out for Edward through the back windows. I saw a figure move along the side of the house on the other side of the road. I slipped to the front of the jeep and aimed for the figure. I fired two shots, one hit home and the other hit the house window breaking it into a million pieces. 

There was a resounding ‘ugh’ heard but the figure kept going for the cover of a thick tree just off the driveway. I’d hit just below his shoulder on the right side, I hoped it would effect his aim since it was his gun arm but I didn’t know if he could use the other arm just as well as the other. My next shot hit the house just as he moved to the tree. Point one me, Edward no points. It’s good to be on the winning side, but I had no desire to prolong this any further. Edward had to die. I just didn’t have the luck of hitting one of the major arteries and have him bleed to death. No my luck was never that good. 

There was no where to run from the tree, everything was too far away for him to make it without me shooting him. I stayed covered by the car, the smoke still rising steadily from the hood gliding right into my field of vision making it harder to focus on the tree. 

A small breeze caught some stray smoke which sneaked into my lungs and made me have a coughing fit, which is exactly when Edward made his move. He came out from behind the tree and fired once in my direction and kept on coming. I stood suppressing a cough and with smoke stinging my eyes I stared at Edward from the end of my gun. 

We were at a face off again and I half expected a tumble weed to roll down the street. But now there wasn’t any cover for either of us. Edward came to a stop just in the middle of the road, blooding flowing freely down his right side to puddle on the ground, with gun held rightly in his left hand, guess he could shot left handed. He didn’t pay any attention to the wound, like it wasn’t even there, and just kept his eyes on me. 

Water pooled in my eyes and trickled down my face, it was the smokes fault but to anyone looking on it would seem that I was crying. I resisted the urge to wipe my face and tried to keep my arm steady on its target. 

Edward’s blank face was in place, mine in place already. Both of us were breathing like we’d just run a mile, him with a slight hitch due to the wound. I knew we couldn’t stand like this forever and I didn’t have to wait long. Edward fired off one shot grazing my side just as my next bullet caught him in the chest where his heart was located. 

Even though sometimes I wondered if Edward had a heart, I aimed anyway where it should have been. The impact pushed him back a step or two, he hesitated but fired again and I dived to the ground to avoid getting hit. My head scraped alone the pavement, made me close my eyes for a minute in pain but I opened them again in time to see Edward fall backward and land with a resounding thud.

I stayed on the ground for a few minutes waiting for my vision to clear. Mercifully, Edward stayed down. I got up a little unsteady and walked to Edward’s side keeping my gun up and aimed at the prone body. 

Edward stared up at me from the flat of his back, a little blood dribbled down the cover of his mouth. It was over. He coughed a little more blood coming up, his gun misplaced by his side. I kicked it further into the road. I could hear the sirens in the distance making their way here. 

I went down on my knees, my gun resting in my lap. I looked briefly at the bullet hole below his right shoulder. “Edward…”

He said something so low that I had to lean in to hear him. His breath felt cold against my ear, but he very spoke clearly and very slowly.


	6. Hope You Enjoyed The Show

I blinked again. I was standing in my doorway at home again. The figure hadn’t moved and neither had I. 

“Anita, I’ve been waiting for you to return.” I instantly recognized the voice, inwardly I sighed, what was wrong with men now a days? 

“Olaf, why am I not surprised.” 

He chuckled softly. I looked to see if he was holding a gun, I couldn’t make one out, but I would bet twenty bucks that he had a knife on him somewhere and I was betting it was really big and recently sharpened, just for little ole me. “As was I not surprised when you killed Edward.”

I let a look flicker across my face. He was probably smiling very brightly right now. Of course, he’d followed me from New Mexico, and had followed me until I killed Edward. Maybe it was even him that messed up the room when he found I wasn’t there.

“So you saw me kill him, so what? Did you enjoy the show?”

“It was quite a show to watch; before I met you I would never believe a women could have won against Edward, but I witnessed it with my own eyes.” He leaned very slowly down to turn on the lamp on the table next to him. I let him. The better to see his face when I killed him. “I thought we could have joined together to hunt him but there are always others we can hunt.”

As the lamp came on I tried to give him my best blank look, sinking into the static in my head. He was just like I remembered he looked in New Mexico. Guess he was a stickler for the familiar. 

There was a sudden click heard from behind Olaf. I watched the surprise spread over his face and then the anger replace it. 

“I don’t think we’ll be going on a hunt anytime soon there Olaf,” I let myself smile a little, I had been waiting for this moment for five days. 

Olaf turned to glance in the corner of his eye behind him. And there, standing with a gun aimed at Olaf’s back, was Edward. 

… he very spoke clearly and very slowly. “I hope Olaf enjoyed the show, you will ask him for me won’t you?” 

I only nodded, put down my gun, brought out my federal marshal badge and backed away with my hands already up as a couple dozen cop cars rounded the corner to the road.

“I saw you die,” Olaf said rather bitterly.

Edward grinned and then went stony faced again, “you saw what we wanted you to see.”

Olaf turned to look full on at me, “you bled, I saw that.”

“Yeah, well you saw one wound bleed, but not the killing hit bleed.”

“You were wearing a vest.” He stated it like he should of thought of it before but hadn’t given it a chance. 

“Bingo, give the man a prize.” I don’t usually try to antagonize psycho’s but I couldn’t really help myself. 

On my way from the airport to my house five days ago, I’d realized I was being followed and I guess Edward knew it was gonna happen too. The note he’d left in my bag had said ‘lets see whose better,’ but at the bottom it’d also said, ‘of course I already know, Olaf’s too used to helpless victims.’

It was pretty hard to do, but we’d set it up so that he’d see me kill Edward. It was the most likely way to get him to show himself to me. Then Dolph took me to the station, suited me up in a Kevlar vest and sent me, much like a father would send their kid off to school, to catch a serial killer. And it looked like I had. I just love it when a plan comes together, don’t you?

But when you corner a wild animal you never know what it’ll do to get un-cornered. Well this one, lunged right at me with the biggest knife I’d ever seen in my life. Edward’s gun went off right about the same time mine did. They both made rather neat holes in Olaf’s body but didn’t stop his momentum towards me. 

I managed to miss the knife, but he still mowed me down. I fired once more with my gun trapped against his chest, he grunted and then his body went limp. Its not my idea of a win when you’ve got about 250lbs of man lying on top of you making it very hard for you to breathe. 

Edward came to the rescue, pushing him off me and crouching by my side. He also checked Olaf’s pulse just to make sure. Of course, I would have done it myself but I was too busy trying to relearn how to breathe.

“See I told you I knew who would win,” Edward smiled down at me.

I sighed and smiled, “Yeah, I guess you were right. Next time, though, you be bait.”

Edward stood and helped me to my feet, shaking his head he said, “Lets just hope there’s not more Anita admirers out there like Olaf.”

Well when Edward’s right, he’s really right. I needed to stop meeting all these psychos, I needed to stop hanging out with Edward, and I desperately needed a shower. But what I really wanted right then was a comfy stuffed penguin named Sigmund and a cup of coffee.


End file.
